Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Tuesday 02/20 A.M. Quickie:On Norv! On Kidd! On A-Rod! On Wisco!

Wow, can you say "slow" today? No NBA, weak college hoops lineup last night, MLB still revving up, most NFL news in hibernation. It almost lulls you into forgetting that Tom Brady is the new Shawn Kemp. And away we go...

(So, the most senationalized story of the day will be A-Rod 'fessing up to his shitty relationship with Jeter. I'm not going to lead with that, out of protest. The obsession with A-Rod and the Yankees is starting early this year, it seems...)

Chargers hire Norv Turner: Presumably, Turner sold them on a vision of making Rivers, Gates and LT the new version of Aikman, Irvin and Smith. He might be able to do it (esp. if the D gets some specialist help, see next item), but aren't Chargers fans a little disappointed to hire a classic NFL retread coach?

And they also hire Ron Rivera: After Rivera was dumped by the Bears, he signed on with the Chargers as LB coach, which is a step down for a guy most fans probably figured would be a head coach by now.

More NFL Coaching news: Dungy back with Colts. With no pressure, he can relax next year during the inevitable year-after-title let-down.

NBA Trade Mania: Kidd to...where? Jason Kidd to the Lakers for a package of ugh (Mihm, Brown, Farmar, draft pick?) seems not only lopsided, but unlikely. Rumor has it they'll need a third team to get a deal done. But all signs point to Kidd on the move, by far the biggest name being thrown around. (I'm trying to figure out if Kidd and Kobe would be the greatest backcourt ever or a complete disaster?)

Let me get to the bigger point: It's time for the Nets to trade both Kidd and Carter. Neither will be with the team by the time they make their move to Brooklyn – and they certainly aren't contending in the East in the short-term anyway – so they might as well start the rebuilding now, around Richard Jefferson, Nenad Krstic, Marcus Williams and whatever they can get from the deal-making.

It was a nice try by NJ to make a run, but it's time to rebuild. There's no shame in that.

NBA All-Star Post-Mortem: So it sounds like the mayhem began AFTER the game, when beatings and shootings and all sorts of "-ings" went down. If you had to guess that an NFL player was allegedly involved, and I'd give you a hint that he doesn't play for the Bengals, who would you guess? (If you said, "Pac-Man Jones" -- as you immediately should have -- you would be correct.)

MLB: A-Rod admits that his relationship with Jeter is strained. Which means it sucks. But I choose to look on the bright side here: That A-Rod might finally be shedding his robotic, everything-is-fine image for something a little more natural and... human. He doesn't like Jeter? Well good for him! Welcome to the club. The hundreds of thousands in the "ABJ Club" are glad to have you.

More MLB: Manny will be late to camp this year. (Does that even surprise you?) Meanwhile, Carlos Zambrano goes to arbitration today. He made a bargain $6.5M last year. He wants $15.5M. The Cubs are offering $11.025M. As the best (and/or Most Valuable) pitcher in the NL, Zamb deserves the bigger number. The word is that they'll negotiate a deal before arb'ing.

CBB Top 25: Glad to see that the pollsters had their head screwed on right and vaulted Wisconsin over OhioState (given that Wisco beat the Buckeyes head-to-head earlier this season).

Let's not overrate next week's rematch in Columbus. Even if Wisconsin loses, they can earn a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed by winning the Big Ten Tournament title, whether or not they beat OSU to do it.

Meanwhile, among notable Top 25 details, apparently Florida is still commanding respect, even if they dropped to No. 3 (behind a team they beat earlier this season by 26). After beating the Gators – no, crushing the Gators – Vandy made its Top 25 debut at No. 17, which is as high of a debut I can remember seeing.

And among the Mid-Majors, So. Ill. enjoyed a nice bump from winning the Mid-Major Game of the Year over Butler. The Salukis reached No. 13, their highest ranking ever.

If XM and Sirius really do merge (and I doubt that regulators will let them), that will be a hell of a sports-radio powerhouse.

93 comments:

The selection commitee always has everything seeded before the end of the Big 10 Tournament. A Northwestern guy should know that, Dan. Then again, the 'Cats are always knocked out well before then, so maybe not.

Why is Wisky ahead of OSU 'right'? Wisconsin won their first game...by 3...at home. That seems like a draw to me. Florida beat OSU by 26 over 2 months ago. That's almost a decade in basketball terms. Besides, Florida has been playing subpar (to their ability) for the last 2-3 weeks.

Again, as always, rankings don't matter in basketball. Though if OSU beats Wisky to end the season and again in the tourney, they are the 1-seed.

Wow, it's nice to have the quickie up without comment moderation while I'm sitting here bored out of my mind at work. I hope your issue with your Blackberry yesterday proved to you that they are overrated.

A-Rod and Jeter--Who freaking cares that they don't get along???? Honestly, I hate the Yankees but I'm sure even Yankees fans don't care if they don't like each other if they win the World Series. Now, about that business of A-Rod winning the World Series....

Norv Turner--I'm more pissed that he left the Niners. He's a terrible head coach, but he's one hell of an offensive coordinator and he was huge in the developement of Alex Smith. I hope Alex learned as much as he could while he can. And who's the DC in SD?? Is it Cotrell? I don't remember seeing anything definitive on that.

Big Z--They'll settle for a one year deal before the 2:00 Pacific Time hearing and then get a long term deal done before Opening Day. Hendry isn't letting him go anywhere.

I think Wiscosin beats OSU this weekend. I'll take Tucker any day over Oden. Tucker makes everyone around him better. Oden is just himself.

Dan, I sent you an invite to the Dan Shan Fan(s) Fantasy Baseball League on Yahoo. You in? We have a spot reserved for you.

I'm surprised, Dan. As a Gator fan, this weekend's game is HUGE. If Ohio State beats Wisconsin, they will have to be penciled in as a #1 seed. But who will they replace? Not Wisconsin, and certainly not UCLA. That leaves UNC and UF. Sure both teams beat OSU, but UNC hasn't been as good as OSU over the last few weeks, and UF's non-conf schedule is weak enough that even one SEC loss puts the Gators on the borderline between #1 and #2. Go check out Lunardi's bracketology, and realize that, for the Gators--like in football--we may need a little help to make the 1-line.

And I agree with rafael that there's no way you can call Wisconsin over OSU the "right" call--not until this weekend.

As a Ravens' fan, I'd like to thank the Chargers for hiring Norv. I was worried they would steal our D coordinator Ryan or hire another up and comer like Rivera. But hiring Norv actually hurts two teams (Chargers and Niners), how many hires can say that?

wrong daniel. xm and sirius will merge. sat radio competes against other media and radio, not just each other. what if one goes bankrupt? will the regulators force another company to try and compete. rediculous. there will be caveats probably but but it would be foolish to stop it.

The Ravens started the game listed as a 4-3, but they lined up in a 3-4 about a third of the time. Ryan varied the looks so I dont think that was the problem. I read a couple reports that Ryan was the 2nd choice. But I think just about any candidate would have been better than Norv...even Marty!

I think Kidd and Kobe will be a great back court but not the greatest. Kidd is an unselfish player who makes people around him better. Plus put him in with the rest of the Laker's for some more touches and they vault into the battle for West supremacy with the Mavs and Suns

Ken, From Today's boston globe story about the XM-Siruis Merger and why it probably will not go through.

Bernoff noted that in 2002, the FCC barred a similar merger between the two major satellite television services, DirecTV and EchoStar Communications Corp., parent company of Dish Network. "The FCC and the Federal Trade Commission couldn't get past the fact that at the end of this there would only be one," Bernoff said.

And if you look at Satellite TV they could say they compete against cable but yet the FTC would not let the merger happen. So while the merger would probably be a good thing it probably will get veto'd

How about the man who everyone on this blog thought should win the Super Bowl MVP, Dom Rhodes, getting arrested for drunk driving last night. No comment on that Dan? IMO, anyone caught for drunk driving should be banned from driving for the rest of their lives. Freaking morons.....

Turner could be a one-and-done guy, especially if SD struggles to say, 9-7 and out of the playoffs....the SD job is still a hot job to want, and next year's round of hot candidates would be quite in demand.

I can easily see OSU and Wisc being slotted as a one and a two, when the Big 10 championship game is going on, winner gets the 1 seed. Of course, it gets interesting if those two DON'T end up being in the final that late Sunday, because then the survivor probably gets a 1 seed, win or lose, and the seeding chairman's going to have to pass the blink test on it, say if an Illinois or MSU makes an upset run.

Can XM and Sirius receivers be easily programmed to pick up each other's programming? And how much money does Howard get from something like this?

Troy, not entirely true. Wisconsin’s RPI SOS is worse than Florida’s. I believe Florida at least needs to win out and lose in the SEC Title game to guarantee a one seed. A lot of Florida’s SOS harm comes from playing very bad warmup games, (say a team ranked 275 v. a team ranked 200) Thus the reason why the RPI SOS has worked in favor of conferences like the MVC and hurt other teams. It takes into account the fact that the 300th ranked team hurts a lot more than the 200th ranked team, when in reality neither stands a snowballs chance against a good team.

There's still a bit of College hoops to be played. That being said, I don't see any way that Florida won't be a #1 seed.

UNC is certainly no lock to win the ACC (outright) or the ACC tournament. V-Tech has played them well, and we (BC) gave them a good run [sigh]... UCLA has also had its share of struggles as well, and the road for them in the Pac-10 tourney will be harder than the Gators run through the SEC.

Truth is, the SEC (minus Florida) is weaker than the Big 10, Pac 10, or ACC right now from top to bottom.

Florida just needed a jump start, and I think they got it with L to Vandy.

Even so, customers would have to purchase new radios to take full advantage of the merged system. Despite an FCC requirement that satellite radios be capable of receiving both Sirius and XM broadcasts, the current generation of receivers lacks this ability.

either merge or they're both dead. they may go under after they merge too. it will be a big pain in the anoose for everyone but i'd put money on it going thru. in fact, i bet theres a line on it somewhere. bodog?

With the #1 seeds still in flux, I can already see Dan predicting that THIS will be the year a #1 loses to a #16 seed. But there is a good chance there will be a weak #1 this year, so I might have to jump on that bandwagon depending on the matchups.

It's funny, because I actually think this year will be less wide open than in years past (I could easily be wrong).

But to me, FLA, WISC, OSU, UCLA, and UNC really are head and shoulders above everyone else. Really, the only teams outside of those that I could see doing serious tourney damage are Kansas (so dangerous when they play well together), A&M, or Pitt. Past that, there are no teams I really would feel good about considering as a Final Four team.

I agree Todd, I think this is a year where the top seeds (1-4) will probably hold. Of course, in the middle, there is not much difference right now between teams that will be seeded 5-12 so that will be where this year's tournament will have parity. I see any of these teams most likely to win it all though: FLA, WISCO, OSU, UCLA, A&M, UNC.

I agree that any of those teams might be capable of an upset, but I don't think any of the teams you mentioned (minus Pitt, which I listed earlier), are capable of making a Final Four run.

I love BC, but we're just not deep enough to make a tourney run. We can compete with anyone (except Kansas), but we can also lose to anyone (VT, Duquense anyone?). We also have a terrible knack for losing big games ('94 against UNC not included).

I do like Georgetown, but unless they can do a better job getting Hibbert more touches, I don't like their chances at making a deep tourney run.

I understand why Wis and OSU are 1 and 2, but I am not really all that impressed with either one. Yes, OSU lost to FL, UNC, and Wis, but who have they beat? The only ranked team they have beat out is Tenn. Wis is the same, but at least they have some non-conference wins. The Big Ten is down this year and I don't see either team being that dominant in the tourney. And the XM-Sirius merger will prolly not go through for the same reasons that the Office Depot-Office Max merger did not go through. The FTC will not allow only one where there was two. It may be they have to merge to survive, but that is not what the FTC looks at whe deciding. Finally, is there any reason why KS never gets any love on your blog Dan? They have won their past several games by huge amounts and they are one of the top 4 teams in nation. (UNC, UCLA, FL being the others)

I think the Turner hiring in SD might not be so bad, as long as he focuses on what he does well and relies on his subordinates (DC) to do their own jobs well. I will argue that SD has a better offense than the Cowboys had when Norv was there -- Aikman is vastly over-rated, LdT is at least as good as Emmitt (probably better), Gates is far superior to Whitten, but the Boys did have an edge in receivers. If Norv can work his magic on offense, which no one disputes he is extremely capable, then this will be another 14-2 team or so.

When Norv coached the 'Skins and Raiders, he had a meddling owner, but more importantly he had no talent to coach. Now he has a championship caliber offense with stars every where he looks. I am a Raiders fan, so I hate to say this, but Norv will win there.

pv: the thing about 1s not looking strong is a result of NOBODY looking strong this year. Unlike the last few years, there really is no overwhelming favorite or favorites in my mind. Just about anybody could pull off a surprise and win March Madness.

If you think your brackets exploded last year, wait till this year. Nobody (and I mean nobody) is safe...we might even see a 16 beat a 1 this year or a mid-major going further than Mason (So. Ill., Butler if they get hot, Air Force or BYU, whoever wins the cluster-frick that is the CAA).

Norv has a lot of work to do in SD. When was the last good game that Rivers had: Week 11, 12? His early season success ran its course once teams had film and knew his tendencies.

I'll agree that Gates is better than Whitten, but Novacek was the Cowboys TE during the Turner years and in that offense he was more dangerous than Gates is in SD (not sure why, maybe the WRs?). He always made plays in big games.

Doesn't anyone remember: last year people were picking the "weak" #1 - Memphis - to lose to a #16. They went further than any of the other #1 teams. Hasn't happened, won't happen.

It takes into account the fact that the 300th ranked team hurts a lot more than the 200th ranked team

This is why I think UF's schedule is undervalued by the RPI. It's not great, but it's certainly better than last year, and it does include Kansas, OSU, @FSU, and Providence. Personally, I think the way Lunardi highlights it (wins over top 50 and losses to sub-top 100) is a much better indicator for determining seed.

As far as brackets go this year, I think it is a huge toss-up for all teams between 3-10 or so. But the top 2 teams in each bracket, and particularly the #1 seeds, all seem a class ahead of the field. So while it may be possible to miss 24 first round games pretty easily, I do not see any of the top 6 losing early. Teams who can win it all are: UF, UNC, UW, OSU, KU, A&M, Pitt, UCLA. Teams not on this list need not make hotel reservations yet. Maybe the most wide open tourney in years, but not for the top slots.

Are you kidding me? They were a final 4 team. That's a once in generation thing. There will not be a mid-major in the final 4 this year, and probably never again, now that the NBA age rule is in effect.

Chipp: I said "might". Lunardi's current four projected at 1 probably won't be upset, but anything is possible, especially with the right matchup. If the committee undervalues a team like Texas A&M Corpus Christi or East Tennessee State, there could be a massive upset.

All the protected seeds that are currently projected have their weaknesses. Memphis this year is overrated at 3 (but they deserved the 1 last year), Pittsburgh has no business being a 2 (and almost any other year they'd be much lower), and BC and Nevada are both ripe for upsets at the four. BC has choked every big game they've had. Nevada hasn't played ANYBODY.

Much like last year's Memphis squad, people are gonna bitch and moan about Wisconsin as a 1 this year. Don't be surprised if they're a final four team.

Personally I think the RPI is better screwed up. The Big 12 currently (as a graphic last night) has 6 teams with an RPI in the top 60 or so. There are not 6 teams in the Big 12 that should be in the tournament. KU, A&M, Texas are pretty much in. Kstate needs to win a few more (although they have the "Huggins" factor), OSU needs to win a road game, and Texas Tech needs to get really hot.

Obviously in my biased opinion, but if KU can learn how to put a team away they're dangerous. Two loses they had late double digit leads (Depaul and A&M).

Ohio State and Wisconsin I can't believe in a serious threats because of the weakness of the Big 10. Do either have a marquee win outside the conference?

When did sporting news become tabloids? Who cares if Brady knocked someone up?

Mason was just the beginning, Ben. Someday in the next few years, a mid-major's gonna win it all. The hired guns that play for one year that would have otherwise gone pro won't mesh and teams that have been together for three or four years will be able to pull upsets.

People undervalue chemistry way too much. That's how Mason made it so far last year (that and being close to home). For proof, watch when Ohio State goes down in the Sweet 16.

Sorry to bring this up again, but as (one of) the only Yankees fan(s) to comment here, I can't help it.

It seems that everyone is "blaming" the rift on Jeter because he wasn't more welcoming and didn't protect ARod from the NY media. Excuse me, but if you make the kind of money ARod is making you should possess the kind of individual qualities that you don't need that kind of thing.

In the mid to late '70s, Reggie Jackson was (one of) the best slugger(s) in baseball. He wasn't welcomed by the captain (Munson), in fact they downright hated each other. But Jackson had the mental toughness (or was it just plain arrogance) to do his job on the field and not let the off the field problems get in the way.

We all know what Jackson's nickname is. Perhaps it's time Steinbrenner stole the nickname he gave Winfield and give it to the true "Mr. April", Alex Rodriguez. In the meantime, ARod should just shut the hell up and play baseball instead of worrying that Jeter didn't hold his hand enough

Now that my rant is over, a quick comment about the BC game. As an alum, I KNEW they were going to lose, I just didn't know how. I find it funny how everyone (including Dickie V.) had Dudley as ACC player of the year before the UNC game, only for him to lay the biggest chokefest in BC history (and that says a ton).

Jason, I completely agree. There isn't a team that I would pick past the first round (especially KU if they play someone that starts with B). I just think of the overall top teams the Big Ten isn't it. Though, people could and have made arguments against all the top teams. I just think that their conference as a whole is down. I do agree about the RPI thing though. How is Okla State at 36 without winning a road game in conference, without a winning record in conference. I just can't wait to fill out my bracket and by the end of the first weekend having no one left in the final four.

But to answer the rest, Jeter has won the last two gold gloves at his position (whereas ARod cost the Yankees games last season with his atrocious defense)...Jeter is a proven postseason contributor with countless big hits and defensive plays, whereas ARod is such a choker that he was dropped to 8th in the lineup. The actual truth hurts! ARod hasn't been a big game player to this point, Jeter has, end of story! As a Yankee fan, of course I'd like ARod to pull a Peyton Manning, but until I see it happen, he needs to shut his purple lipped mouth!

Dan, I don't know if A-rod ever seemed robotic to me. I think after Jeter started hating him, he became more sympathetic to those of us who hate the Yankees. As a Tigers fan, I would love to see him go there as Sheffield (sp?) did and see them beat the Yankees in the ALCS. I think A-rod shit the bed on purpose last playoffs as a giant fuck you to the whole organization and the WORTHLESS Yank-me fans. There is no organization as vile in sports and I would not blame A-rod for doing it.

(Thanks to those who read my blog story and posted. I TRULY appreciate it.)

I love the mock brackets on ESPN. They are pretty ridiculous, but it is fun to see where they think the top teams will end up. If that bracket were real, I would hate to be Florida or UCLA, and would love to be Wisconsin. Assuming the higher seed win each game (and the #1 seed beats the 16 seed), here's the path to the final four:

I wondered yesterday,how do they figure that Norv Turner is a better solution to Marty Schottenheimer for San Diego?My problem with Turner is he's not a great head coach when it comes to gameday. He's as a offensive coordinator no doubt on this matter. I wondered why not Ron Rivera, or Mike Singletary a shot as HC.

One of my all-time favorite baseball quotes, from Baseball Prospectus:

"2005 aside, the reason Jeter has hurt his team defensively is that he doesn't get to many balls and is not spectacularly efficient with those he does get to. Fans new to the game sometimes think his nickname is "Pastadiving" because they hear the phrase "past a diving Jeter" so often during Yankee broadcasts."

And yes, before any of you Yankee fans/apologists out there get their panties in too much of a knot, he's a great player (obviously) and pretty much every team's fans would want him on their team.

Back in the college days, I had a class called "Radio as a business". The professor was also a Boston Radio Host (The one on the left, though I don't know that it's any better).

One day, we had a special guest - Mel Karmazin, the guy who now runs Sirius and used to run Viacom. Back then, he had told our professor how big satellite radio would be, and that "when he took over and started to run things right", people would really see how to make money on the satellites.

Maybe I should have listened and bought stock back then.

Anyway, the point is, I don't think there's any way the merger doesn't go through, and more omportantly to this discussion, I don't think it will be long before the major sports shift their broadcasts to a subscription-based service, whether it's satellite or web-based broadcasts.

For anyone who knows anything about baseball, they know that winning a Gold Glove means squat about your actual defense.

Ironic, isn't it?

The reason Jeter wins gold gloves is because there are too many people who are given votes who only ever watch the Yankees. That, and the ridiculous fact that unless you're Ozzie Smith/Bill Mazeroski-level mind-boggling with the leather, you need to have a good bat to win a gold glove.

Statistically Jeter's defense is below average.

As for Brady:

I think this actually improves his image. There are a lot of people who dislike the guy because he appears to be made of plastic. It's nice to know he's flawed and therefore a little bit human. He could have accomplished the same goal, less damagingly, in any number of ways--joining the Flat Earth Society, taking up the accordion, or running for city council all spring to mind--but having random children surface here and there will do admirably for a character flaw.

We all know what Jackson's nickname is. Perhaps it's time Steinbrenner stole the nickname he gave Winfield and give it to the true "Mr. April", Alex Rodriguez. In the meantime, ARod should just shut the hell up and play baseball instead of worrying that Jeter didn't hold his hand enough

It was Mr. May.

But as with Jackson back in his day, if Rodriguez became available for my team--I'd take him. Thanks.

How many other shortstops make that 2001 ALDS play? None! In any event, I only brought up the gold gloves and Jeter's increasingly better defense as a contrast to the suckfest ARod displayed last season. It's funny how some get fixated on one part of a comment and run with it.

Anyway, there's no question that statistically ARod is the superior player through September, but championships are won in October. Look back a month and see what people were saying about the Manning vs. Brady thing. It's a non-story now that Peyton has a SB ring (sorry Pats fans, but it's true).

Speaking of Brady, I think this is the biggest shrug of the shoulders stories of the year so far. So, let's see if I get this straight, Brady had sex with his hot gf and now she's pregnant. Is that all?!Seems like 8th grade health class of the rich and famous to me

I agree with whoever it was that said Jeter is both great, and overrated (I wanna say it was Neyer). Barring serious injury, he's a HOF first-ballot lock, and non-slumber-party-pillow-fight-in-their-panties-with-A-Rod aside, seems like he could be a decent person (though I still hold out that he's the Anti-Christ).

But anyway, my point is that Yankee fans dig their own graves on the Jeter debate, because the more you talk about Jeter's intangibles, his greatness, (one freakin' flip to home play that no one would've remembered had some juicer decided to slide), then maybe we wouldn't all hate the guy so much (though I still would, as I'm convinced he was the mastermind behind 9-11).

But yeah, the Jeter man-love is so much of what causes everyone to hate Jeter, as is the fact that he's on the ever-so-hateable Yankees. No one here would say he's not a great player, he is, but just that everyone's sick and tired of hearing how he's so freakin' amazing, how he's such a great leader, etc., and so we all find flaws within his game/leadership (his range, not giving enough pats on the butt to A-Rod, though I blame him for causing the melting of the Polar Ice Caps).

@CMfost, I don't know if antogonizing Dan will be the best way to get him to join the league... you know, even if he's totally weak and scared of us...

A-Rod is a $25M/yr crybaby who looks around his locker-room for other people to blame when things don't go his way. First, he thought fans should be equally critical of Giambi, Johnson, and Mussina because they also made $20M per season. Now his troubles are because he doesn't have a good friendship with Jeter.

But, if I had to pick one Yankee to add to my team, I would take A-Rod every time. He's a better defensive shortstop than DJ. He's one of the best offensive players of all time. His career postseason numbers aren't that bad, and were actually pretty good up until that 3-0 lead against Boston. I would rather get to the postseason and take my chances than not have A-Rod at all.

Jeter is one of the greatest clutch players of this generation who gets timely hits and did make one spectacular defensive play in the postseason. But really, he's the 2nd best shortstop on the Yankees.

Jeter became the face of the great Yankees dynasty because of his youth and good looks in 1996. Now, he's well into his career and hasn't won in 6 years. He wasn't the best player on any team then, and he isn't now.

To say Jeter was made the face of a dynasty because of his good looks and youth is absolutely the most ridiculous comment ever - the guy puts up great numbers every year (BA, fielding percentage, steals, rbis, runs, doubles, even HRs), was rookie of the year, is a perenial all star (for good reason), is clutch in the post season, doesn't get in trouble EVER, gives back to his community, not to mention he won FOUR world series. Quit bashing on Jeter because you have zero arguments.

Your stat choice is interesting, since Jeter's OBP is always impressive, and no one really gives a rat's ass about fielding percentage and the super-heated doubles race. (Not to mention he consistently leads MLB in killing cute puppies and kittens in every year as well).

You Yankee fans just don't get it, do you? Jeter is a great player, but he's not perfect, he's not the second coming, he's not Mickey Mantle or Babe Ruth. He was a key cog in a dynasty. He puts up good numbers most years, but is never the best player in baseball nor is he usually even the best player on his own team. The more you argue how perfect he is, how great he is, the more we will hate him.

Admit some of his flaws, and you'd be a lot more believable. For instance, you could start that Jeter doesn't have great range, that he has never had the opportunity to show greatness independent of his great teammates, that his power numbers are inferior to the elite SS in the game, that he should have done more to de-escalate the A-Rod situation last year, and, if you'd like to appease me, admit that Jeter is hiding Iraq's WMDs.

All this is opposed to David Ortiz. Has anyone else noticed that there hasn't been a World War since David Ortiz was born? Coincidence? I think not my friends...

I mean seriously, Notre Dame and the Yankees? That's pretty weak dude. I mean seriously, how do you go to sleep at night? Do you cuddle up with your Jeter bobblehead and sleep in a Brady Quinn jersey while dreaming of having everyone hate you?

I think that Jeter play in the ALDS is a joke. Why do people give so much credit for a player being so out of position? The fact is, he shouldn't have been over there at all, and had Giambi slid, it would have been even more dumb. A throw that shitty should have been cut off by someone on the right side of the field. Jeter running all the way over there is the least "leader-like" thing he could have done.

That said, there are few players that you dread seeing come up in a situation in which a hit wins the game. I would take A-Rod over Jeter easily, but having Jeter wouldn't be too bad. Though I would love to see Jeter playing for the Pirates to see how great he really is. Intangibles don't mean too much when your team sucks.

Unless you watch Jeter play every day, you fail to understand his greatness. How many big hits did he get last year? In the Sox series alone, he had the two biggest hits of the year, doubling home 3 runs in the first game and then tying the game against Papelbon in the Sunday night game. Who bloodies their face making a catch in a regular season game? I'd take Jeter over Arod to start a team any day. Arod went thru a 3 week period last year where he couldn't throw the ball to 1st base. He is simply too fragile mentally.

I was at Yankee Stadium last year and saw the play on the jumbotron....come on everyone, that's a freakin' brilliant play.

The only thing that bothers me is that Giambi was SAFE anyway. Ump blew the call....you can tell on the Gatorade what-if ad.

What he was "doing over there" was following the play. As a shortstop, the runners were already behind him, and any baseball player with the urge to hustle knows there's always somewhere to be on the field.

That was a heads-up play....way, WAY better than that hot-dog dive against the Red Sox back in '04.

I really don't see Jeter as a very good leader. I remember reading an article last year about his poor leadership. Good leaders bring the best out of the people they are leading. If Jeter can't bring the best out of A-Rod, then he's a terrible leader.

And all you Yankees fans knocking on A-Rod for being terrible at third base, give him a break. THE GUY IS PLAYING OUT OF POSITION!!!! I'll bet he hasn't played third base since his days in little league so quit knocking his abilities there. I actually played third base on a championship team in high school. It is an extremely hard position to play. The ball comes at you at an incredible rate of speed. You have very little time to react to the ball. You have a lot more reaction time at shortstop and the guy played there for probably 15 years and was asked to change positions. Give him a freaking break!

You know how when you were in high school you saw this really hot girl or guy, and then you tell your friends about said hottie. You build them up to be the hottest person ever to walk the Earth, and then when your friends see them, they're like, "eh, she's cute, I guess"... and then they proceed to point out all their flaws?

That's sort of like what you all do with Jeter. You guys put him on such a pedestal, and have such lofty regard for him, that you can't see any of his flaws.

So many of the "only Jeter could've made that play" comments are loaded, same with some of his "clutch" situations. Jeff Maier gave him one, a slow juicer who didn't slide gave him another, and hitting a HR off of Byung Hyung Kim really doesn't count as anything, right? And please don't even mention the dive into the stands at Yankee Stadium... totally could've avoided that...

Does he have clutch ABs? Sure, but he's not the freakin' god you make him out to be. But so long as you guys refuse to accept any criticisms, or think he's infallible, all of us are going to be right here waiting to discredit him.

He's not the best SS of this era (his teammate is), and he's rarely been the best player on his own team.

Grew up an hour from Yankees stadium and graduated from ND. Being hated is awesome - mainly its because my favorite teams are historically awesome (not every year - but looking at championships overall, they do ok).

Todd, imagine Ortiz played shortstop well, was your team captain and led your team to 4 world championships, along with all of the other intangibles he brings to the table. Don't tell me you wouldn't be all over his nuts. I LIVE in Beantown, I see the Ortiz cock-riding that goes on in this town. Dude is on "T" cars left and right and people treat "Big Papi" like he's God. He's only been in Boston for 4 years, they've only won ONE world series with him, and he's a fatass who "rests" every half inning. So stop acting like if you had a star player who played 11 seasons for your team while batting career .317 and leading your team to 4 championships you wouldn't defend him like Yankee fans do. Red Sox fans feel the need to hate on someone like Jeter because they think its comical, it's in their nature to be haters. Sure Ortiz is a fatass and doesn't deserve MVP's as DH, but I don't wish death upon him. He's a nice guy and a great player, even though he has flaws. We all know Jeter has flaws, all of us do, but we don't sit around and pick out random shit he doesn't do well like you do. No baseball players have ever been perfect, the soon to be greatest player/homerun hitter of all time is one of the most miserable doochebags alive, but hes still a great player. So admit you'd take Jeter in a second on your team and stfu.

@NDYanks, Alright, if you graduated from ND, that's fairly understandable then... as long as you hate Duke, the other Axis of Evil in my book.

@Kurt, I don't really think Ortiz is a God, etc., I just used him for comical effect in trying to be as ridiculous in claims about him as I hear some people make about Jeter.

Glad you can acknowledge that Jeter has his flaws, that makes you a much smarter sports fan than some. Of course, Ortiz has some flaws, as in he has the defensive range of a quadraped, tends to whine too much to the umps, hasn't cured cancer... yet...

They're both great players. And as you'd see in one of my earlier comments, I did acknowledge that Jeter, if he continues putting up good numbers for the next couple years (and crosses the 3,000 hit mark), should easily be a first-ballot HOFer. And I even said most teams would probably want him on their team (Mets fans have the better SS right now, O's fans probably as well). So in all fairness, it's not like I'm denying Jeter is a good player or anything.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.